Leo Sayer

Gerald Hugh Sayer, better known as Leo Sayer, was born on May 21, 1948 in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England. After studying graphic arts, he began his musical career writing songs with David Courtney, such as "Giving It All Away", which gave The Who's Roger Daltrey his first solo hit (#5 in the UK) in 1973. Signed to the Chrysalis label, Leo Sayer released his first solo single, "Why Is Everybody Going Home", which failed to chart. His next single, "The Show Must Go On", reached No. 2 in the UK, as did the album it was based on, Silverbird. Throughout the 1970s, hits such as "Moonlighting" (no. 2 in 1975), "You Make Me Feel like Dancing" (no. 2 in 1976) and "When I Need You", which in 1977 gave him his first number one in the UK charts, a feat he would repeat only once, almost thirty years later in 2006 with "Thunder in my Heart Again" in collaboration with DJ Meck. A victim of dubious investments, Leo Sayer struggled through the 1980s and 1990s, but enjoyed a regenerative end to his career with two albums recorded in the 2000s, Voice in my Head (2004) and Don't Wait until Tomorrow (2008), and as many in the following decade: Restless Years (2015) and Selfie (2019). Still active in 2022, he released the album Northern Songs, on which he covered Beatles songs.